Clothes-drying machine.



C. W. COLLINS.

CLOTHES DRYING MACHINE.

APPLlcATloN FILED FEB.13.1915.

A TTOR/VEI c. W. COLLINS. l CLOTHES DRYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I3, 1915.

1 1 9 1,1 23. Patented July 11, 1916.

2 -SHEETS-SHEET 2.

's'rnfrns PATENT onmen;

cHAnLs W. coLLIiIs,v or SEATTLE, wAsHrNe'ron.. i

F To eall whom at may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. CoLLINs, a citizen of the United States, residing' at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-'Drying Machines, of which the following is a speci'- ication. Q

This invention machines; and its object isthe improving of such machines to render the same capable of drying clothes more expeditiously and in greater quantities than hitherto with an economical consumption of heat, power and manual labor.

With these and other ends in view, as will appear from the following'specicatiom'the invention consists in a plurality of drying compartments which are connected by passageways so as to be operable in series and progressively so that the compartments may be successively rendered inoperative without interfering with the working of the other compartments. In each of said compartments is provided a rotary clothes containing drum which is arranged to be rendered inoperative when the respective` compartment is not in use.

The invention further consists in a system of air conduits and controlling valves therefor which are adapted to supply hot air to the various drums for drying purposes and serve in coperation with the several compartments. and passageways to effect an economical drying of the goods.

The invention still further consists in' the novel construction, adaptation and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.` i

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 C l 1s a horizontal sectional view of a drier embodying the present invention with the valve-operating appliances omitted. Fig. 2

lis -a transverse vertical section taken sublstantially through 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail front elevational `view of the valve mechanism with a portion of the drier casing in vertical section. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through 4-4 of Fig- 3 with the valves and casing thereabove indicated by broken lines. Fig. 5 isa front elevation of the preferred means for regulating the rotary movements" of the cam-shaft to open and close selected valves.` Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section to illustrate a different arrangement of the air-intake `valves and asi Specification o.f Letters Patent. Patented July 11,1916, Application led February 13, 1915. Serial No. 7,944. i

compartments A, B,4 C and D. The top of l -v the casing, as shown-in Fig. 2, is desirably relates to clothes-dryingv formed ofarcuate portions 14. 'In the outer wall 10 are hinged doors, such as 15 and 151, to give access to the different compartments. Within each compartment is a drum comprisingend members 16 and peripheralwalls 17 of woven wire with an opening in each of the latter and for which are provided hinged'- doors 18. Extending from each drum-member 16 areaxle elements 19 and 19* journaled 1n boxes 20. 21 and 22 represent tight'and loose pulleys mounted on the axle elements ,'19 and for which are provided endless belts 23 extending about pulleys, such as24, provvlded on .a power-driven shaft 25. Any suitable-devices may be provided for shift.-

ing the-belts from said tight to loose pul-` leys, 6r vice versa, or they may be shiftedb the hand of the operator, according to whi'c of the drums are to be rotated. or caused to -be inoperative. Passageways 26, 261, 262

and 1263 are provided in'said partition to afford communication between the adjacent compartments. Gate valves or doors, as 27, are provided for each of these passageways and may be openedor'shut, as by means of levers 28 (Fig. 2) extending utside of the casing and respectively connected with the valves by links 29.

. For each 4compartment are provided ports for the inflow and discharge of air which serves as the drying agent. The `airinlet ports are connected by branch pipes 30 with.

an air supply pipe 301 leading from an airheat'er. The outlet ports are, in like manner,

connected by lbranch pipes 31 with a dilscharge pipe 311 leading to a power-driven exhaust fan or blower 32. Provided for said inlet ports of the respective compartments valve bodies. The intake valves are elevated.

to open the same by means of bell-crank levers 40a, 40", 40,.40", which are actuated by cams 41a, 41", 41C, 41d' mounted on a shaft- 42. The levers for the intake valves,- as

are valves 33a, 33", 33c and 33d, and for the f shown in Figs. 3 and 4, are operable directly be respectively'engaged by cams 38, 38h, 38c` and 38'1 provided on said cam-shaft to effect l the opening of any of the outlet valves. The

cams are disposed upon the shaft 42 sothat when the latter is suitably turned an inlet valve of a selected compartment and the outlet'valve of the compartment. in diagonal relations thereto in the casing will be opened.

When this occurs, the other valves remain inclosed positions. At each end of the shaft is a sprocket wheel 45 (Fig. 5) which are connected by endless chains46 with sprocket wheels 47 mounted on shafts 48 positioned, as indicated in Fig. 4, at'the front and rear of the drier and within convenient reach of the operator when employed at the front or rear.

The shafts 48 are provided with crankhandles 49' with a pointer 491L for denoting with respect to a seriesof numbers or other characters 50 (Fig. 5) the positions of the various cams and the various valves so `as to render a predetermined one of the `compartments inoperative and the other. three compartments operative with respect to the circulation of air, and subject to the regulation of the aforesaid gates.

Where it is desired to create a rapid circulation of air among the compartments, it

is advantageous to have allof the valves open in opposition to the direction of travel of the air currents, as otherwise the valves are likely to be opened by suction due to the partial vacuum obtaining within the operating compartments. Under such conditions, the inlet valves instead of opening as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, away from the pipe branches through which the air is supplied, should open toward such connections. This modification is clearly shown in Fig. 6. I also show in this View an ar- 'rangement of the cams whereby an. inlet valve-stem may be actuated thereby withp v out the use of any intermediary bell-cranks or equivalents. p Baffie-plates 51 (Fig. 2) may be used to direct the air to cause it, when traversing a compartment, topass through a druml instead of around the same.

In operation, the clothes or other articles to be dried, are deposited in the successive drums and are heated through the agency of hot air currents which are admitted through the inlet port of a selected compartment, thence flow through another compartment into a third compartment to be withdrawn therefrom -by means of the eX- v haust fan. For example, assuming that the compartment A for the purpose of replacing in the drum thereof dried articles with land 263 which lead into such compartment are closed, and the gates for the passages 261 and 262 between the other compartments B, C and D are opened. .'lhe inlet valve 33b for compartment B and outlet valve 34d of compartment D are now opened by rotating the shaft 42 to cause the respective cams 41b and 38d to become effective. When this occurs, the suction created by the fan 32 will cause the air to flow as follows: from the supply pipe into compartment B where the a1r .current is deflected by the baeplate 51 in this compartment to one side of the drum, thence through the drum and by passage 261l to compartment C, through the drum therein through passage 262 and, finally, through drum of compartment D to escape through the port which is uncovered by valve 34d, as'indicated by direction arrows in Figs. 1 and 2. When the drum of compartment A is loaded and that of drum B dried, thegate of passage 2611s closed and gate of passage 263 is opened, whereupon the cam-shaft 42 is turned to open inlet valve 33c and open outlet Valve 34a resulting in theair entering compartment C and after traversing D escaping from compartment A. rllhe other compartments may in like manner be operated in groups, while the idle one in each cycle is unloaded and `loaded to be brought into action in the following. cycle. The valves which are not opened by the cams close by their own weight or bythe suction of the air when the respective cams are withdrawn. When a drum is to be put into or out of operation, the driving belt 23 'therefor is suitably shifted. fr

The invention is of simple construction, requires little attention, 4and is adapted fory laundries doing considerable business and where large quantities must be dried at a small co's't.

What 1 claim as my invention, is- 1. A drier of the character described, hav'- ing a casing divided into a plurality of compartments and provided with communicative connection: therebetween, gates for each such connection, ,means for individually opening, or closing selected o f said gates, a rotary drum in each ofsaid compartments, 'means for rotating the drums, ,an intake and peculiarly of goods 1 outlet port for each compartment, means to supply air to the intake ports .and withdrawthe air from the outlet ports, valves for the respective ports, and means for simultaneously openlng the inlet valve of one compartment and .the outlet Valve for another ing a casing divided into av plurality of com-v partments and provided with communicative connection therebetween, gates for each 131?,

suchl connection, means for individually opening or closing selected of said gates,a rotary drum in each of said compartments, means for rotating the drums, an intake and outlet port for each compartment, means to supply air to the intake ports and withdraw the airfrom the outlet ports, valves for the respective ports, and means for regulating said valves V'whereby the "course of air through said compartments may bevaried.

3. A drier of the character described, divided. into compartments, means to afford communication between selected of said compartments, a conduit to supply air for drying intothe compartments, a conduit to conduct the air from the compartments, valves for regulating the low of air to and from said conduits with respect to all of the compartments, and a means operatively connected with all of said valves whereby the lair in flowing between the aforesaid conduits is caused to flow through all but one of the compartments, said valve regulating means being adapted in coperation with the vday of February,

4f. A drier of the character described, havinga plurality of communicating compart ments, doors' operable from the outside of* the drier for closing the communication between any ofsaid compartments and the adjacent ones, openings for the inlet and discharge of hot air from each of said compartments, valves -or the respective openings, and means operatively connected with all of said Valves whereby the vhot airis supplied to one of said compartments and discharged from another compartment without passing through a selected one of said compartments.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this -5th 1915. CHARLES W; COLLINS.

Witnesses:

HORACE BARNES,

E. PETERSON. 

